Claire and Joe’s Wedding in Boyne Hill Estate

Claire and Joe’s Wedding in Boyne Hill Estate

Boyne Hill Estate Wedding in Co Meath

Two mutual friends decided between themselves that Joe and I would make a great match. They gave my number to Joe and after a few days of texting we went on our first date to Sinnotts bar on Stephen’s Green. Having seen each other on Facebook it wasn’t quite the blind date in the old fashioned sense. Once we met, we just chatted for hours and it was really clear from the onset that we were very similar in terms of our interests, family, friends etc.

So the dates kept coming and after about 18 months we made the move to living together. This decision came very easily and it seemed a completely natural next step. Our first weekend away together was to Westport and while there we took a trip out to Achill Island and walked the beautiful Keel beach. It was almost four years later that we went back to Westport to go to the Westport Festival and Joe surprised me with a trip to Achill and on that same beach he got down on one knee and proposed – I had no hesitation in saying an absolute YES!! Joe had asked my Dad a few days before and had a beautiful engagement ring picked in advance. I was taken completely by surprise that day but I will never forget the feeling of joy and happiness as we celebrated with some bubbles and began to phone our family and friends to share our good news!

We always knew we’d get married in Ireland – and decided while we would get married in my family church in Dun Laoghaire we would love to have our reception somewhere outside of Dublin. So the hunt began for the perfect venue within about an hour or less drive from Dublin. Boyne Hill Estate in Co Meath was that place for us!! It was one of the first places we viewed and we knew as soon as we left that day it was exactly what we were looking for. It was the perfect mix of the elegance of the Manor House, the casualness of the Blushing Groom bar and the beauty of the grounds that made it so perfect for us! We didn’t stop talking about it as we drove home that day and rang back straight away to book our Christmas wedding there. When we read all the reviews of the absolutely top class service and the beautiful food, our decision was confirmed.

And so all the other planning began. We attended a couple of wedding fairs over the coming months and it was at one of these that we found our amazing photographer Sarah Tracey. When we met her to discuss our wedding we just clicked with her. She has a great, laid back attitude yet a wonderfully professional attention to detail. We were delighted with Sarah on the day as she listened to everything we wanted and never got in the way. In fact, Sarah helped with many jobs on the morning of the wedding that went far beyond the role of photographer!! We were delighted with all the moments captured by her on the day.
I always knew long before we got engaged that my bridesmaids would be my sister and three best friends from school. Joe, on the other hand, had his two brothers and found it harder to choose between three of his best friends and so ended up with five men in total!! My first reaction was that we can’t have uneven numbers in the bridal party until I thought about it and realised it is more important to have everyone we want there with us on the big day rather than perfect symmetry!! Our beautiful Goddaughter and handsome Godson finished off the bridal party perfectly.

Myself and my four bridesmaids headed into Dublin city centre way back in January and found the perfect dresses for them on our first stop in Debenhams. It helped that the girls were so laid back which made it all very easy. Joe and all the boys got gorgeous suits in The Formal Suite in Dublin and they were truly delighted with the service they received and they all looked very dapper on the day. To choose my own dress, my Mum, my sister and I headed to Fiona Todhunter Bridal. I had no real vision in my mind of what I wanted but all three of us just agreed the first dress I tried on was the one when we saw it! It happened to be Valentine’s Day the day we went so I took that as a sign and we ordered it there and then!! I still cannot get over the compliments I received on my dress on the day! We used the Powder Room Girls for our hair and makeup and it made the morning of the wedding so relaxed for us to just have the girls come to my parents’ house and get us all ready there! I was dressed with time to spare and just could not wait to walk up the aisle and meet Joe there.

The part that caused us the most stress was the table planning. But Paul of Table Plan Designs was a godsend and his creativity took all that stress away and they provided a really beautiful and unique seating and table plan on the day. We always wanted a Christmas Wedding and the day was as magical as we could have ever imagined. Boyne Hill Estate went above and beyond to make the place perfect. The effort by every single member of staff there to make our two day wedding celebrations feel like it was a home away from home was unbelievable. As clichéd as it sounds – you can never imagine how amazing it feels to have all of your family and friends with you in one place on the day until it happens. It was an unbelievable mix of happiness and love – I think we can say with confidence that we wouldn’t change a single thing about the day….other than slow it down. It is so hard to believe it is all over but we will always look back on our wedding day memories with pride and happiness.

We chose Cancun and Orlando for our honeymoon and enjoyed a wonderful combination of pampering luxury in Cancun with the more active few days in Orlando.